Dual Citizenship Recovery for Iraq citizens in the United States — 2026

Nationality rules differ enormously between countries, and this is not a page that can tell you whether you qualify. Some countries pass citizenship down indefinitely; others stop at one generation born abroad, require registration before a deadline, or do not permit dual nationality at all. What follows is how to find out for Iraq, and what to settle before you spend anything.

Quick facts

Iraq has five offices across four cities — Los Angeles, New York, Southfield and Washington, D.C. That is enough offices for the kind of office to matter as much as the distance to it.

Iraqi consular offices in the United States

Applications and enquiries go through the career post whose district covers your state, though the decision itself is taken in Iraq:

The questions that decide your case

• How far down does descent run? Through a parent is common; through a grandparent is much rarer; through a great-grandparent is unusual anywhere.
• Is there a deadline? Several countries require a child born abroad to be registered within a set period, after which the claim is lost.
• Does Iraq permit dual nationality? Yes. An Iraqi who acquires a foreign nationality keeps the Iraqi one unless he declares in writing that he is renouncing it. Taking the U.S. oath does not do that by itself.
• Does the line pass through either parent? Some nationality laws were paternal for decades and were reformed later, sometimes with retroactive effect.
• What obligations come with it? Military service and tax residence attach to nationality in some countries regardless of where you live.

Documents a claim by descent normally rests on

• Birth certificates establishing the unbroken line, each certified for use abroad.
• Marriage certificates covering every change of surname in that line.
• The ancestor’s Iraqi passport, identity card or other proof of nationality.
• Evidence of whether and when an ancestor naturalised elsewhere, which in some countries breaks the line.
• Translations into Arabic or Kurdish where required.

Before spending money on this

Ask the consular office what Iraqi law actually allows in your circumstances before engaging anyone to help with it. Genealogists and specialist firms exist and can be useful where records are old or scattered, but they are not a substitute for knowing whether the claim exists at all — and that answer is free.

If your own immigration position in the United States is unresolved, take advice from an immigration lawyer before approaching any foreign authority.

Iraqi nationality and the U.S. oath

Article 10 of the Iraqi Nationality Law No. 26 of 2006 provides that an Iraqi who acquires a foreign nationality retains Iraqi nationality unless he states in writing that he gives it up. There is nothing to file beforehand, and the U.S. Oath of Allegiance is not such a statement.

Two things follow from the same article. Iraqi courts apply Iraqi law to a person who holds both Iraqi and a foreign nationality — relevant to family, inheritance and property matters. And a person who did renounce may recover Iraqi nationality after returning lawfully to Iraq and residing there for at least a year; the Minister may treat the nationality as held from the date of return, and this benefit is available once only.

Withdrawal of nationality under article 15 is a separate matter and reaches only people who obtained Iraqi nationality by naturalisation, on security grounds or for false information.

Checked on 6 October 2026 against the text of Nationality Law No. 26 of 2006 published by the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, which publishes the official gazette.

Office names, addresses and telephone numbers on this page come from our directory, and the count above is taken from the same records as the listing. Procedural rules come from the authority itself — always confirm with the office that covers you. Apostille status checked against the HCCH official status table on 2026-10-05.